Too much of a good thing? Curvilinear relationships between self-calming and autonomic responses in paediatric patients

Based on the theory of self-regulation and the polyvagal theory, we hypothesise a curvilinear relationship between self-regulation and autonomic responses. We report findings of a pilot study that provides support for the proposed hypothesis. For some of the observed cases, the quadratic polynomial regression models the data better than the linear regression model, indicating curvilinear relationships between self-regulation and indicators of autonomic response. Consequences of the hypothesis and its relevance for therapeutic interventions supporting the patients’ self-calming system are discussed.